Carreras and the Bears Win Again

The Yakima Bears beat the Spokane Indians 7-3 Monday night at Yakima County Stadium. The win evened the series against the Indians at 1-1 and has given the Bears a three-game lead in the Northwest League’s East Division.

Bears starting pitcher Alex Carreras became the first four-game winner in the Northwest League, as he earned his fourth-straight victory to start the season. Carreras allowed two runs in six innings on four hits and three walks. The effort was the third quality start of the season for Carreras.

Carreras pitched with a lead almost the whole time thanks to the work by the Bears batters. Lead-off hitter Danny Poma reached on a single, advanced two bases on balks, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Shaun Cooper in the first inning. The Bears added three more runs in the third inning when Jacob House, Jimmy Comerota, and Mark Ginther hit back-to-back-to-back RBI singles to score Poma, Cooper, and House. The Indians score two in the fifth inning and one in the top of the eighth before Josh Parr hit a bases loaded double to drive in Ronnie Freeman and Jesus Abreu, who had reached on a single and a walk, respectively.

Josh Parr went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs batted, and two stolen bases. Mark Ginther also went 2-for-4 with a double. Seven of the nine batters had at least one hit, with the other two reaching safely on a walk and a hit by pitch.

The Bears bullpen finished up the effort. Victor Capellan was tagged with the run in the eighth, one of two innings on the hill for him. Then RJ Hively finished the game with a 1-2-3 ninth that included two strikeouts.

The Bears conclude the six-game homestand Tuesday with the final game of the three-game series against the Indians. Game time is set for 7:05. Left-handed pitcher Cody Wheeler is scheduled to face right-handed pitcher Connor Sadzeck.